Washington State Cougar (12-8) baseball showed their stuff Friday night at Bailey-Brayton Field in Pullman. The Cougs took the series opener with the Bears by a final of 8-2.
The game began uncharacteristically for WSU. Coach Donnie Marbut sent Joe Pistorese (3-1) to the mound who has been brilliant this year. Brown was able to take advantage of three hits, three stolen bases and a Cougar fielding error to jump out early driving 2-runs across home plate.
Didn’t take long for the Cougs to snap out of it and do what they do best. This team is loaded with offensive talent. Anyone questioning their ability to generate runs was delivered a positive answer in the form of 4-runs in the bottom of the first to take a lead they would not surrender the rest of the evening.
"“It was important we responded right away after falling behind in the first inning,” WSU Coach Donnie Marbut said after the game. “Joe (Pistorese) wasn’t sharp in the first inning, but he did a nice job of settling in after that.”"
Washington State was the model of efficiency manufacturing 8-runs on just 7-hits. P.J. Jones led the way with a 2-hit performance. That said, the spotlight must shine on the solid outing turned in by Pistorese. He went 7-innings striking out a season-best 7 Brown batters.
Second game in this weekend series is scheduled to start at 2pm Saturday with a good possibility of a nice crisp spring afternoon in Pullman. If you can’t make it out to the ball park, the game will be streamed on the Pac-12 Network.
GO COUGS!!!
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WASHINGTON STATE NOTES:
– The game with Brown Friday night was the first head-to-head meeting in any sport since the Cougars and Bears (then the Bruins) met in the 1916 Rose Bowl
– Washington State improved to 5-0 all-time against Ivy League schools
– WSU improved their record to 8-2 at home this season